The medial of a 3D object is the set of points in 3D space that form the centers of maximally-sized spheres contained completely within the object and touching the object at two or more distinct points. The medial is a geometric entity of interest to engineering and animation disciplines.
Existing methods to compute the medial suffer from 1) loss of accuracy due to an iterative accumulation of error, or 2) logical errors that arise from the complexity of tracing or combinatoric schemes.
In finite element analysis, researchers have postulated the value of the medial as a means to automate the division of a 3D object into ‘mesh’ elements, but have failed to develop an adequate description for the medial.
In character animation, researchers have sought to improve the ease of control of 3D objects during animation, but have been frustrated in their progress because of a reliance on a ‘stick-figure’ skeleton as a control mechanism.
Therefore, there exists a need for a better tool for use in finite element analysis and character animation.